Erica Parsons
Thirteen-year-old Erica was reported missing by her adoptive brother William "James" Parsons, in the 200 block of Miller Chapel Road in Salisbury, North Carolina on November 19, 2011. He reported her disappearance on July 30, 2013, (twenty months after he last saw her) and shortly after his parents forced him to leave their house. James stated whenever he asked where Erica was, their parents Casey Stone Parsons and Sandy Parsons told him she was staying with relatives. Casey and Sandy told the police they believed Erica was staying with her biological family. Her biological mother, Carolyn Parsons, had been Sandy's brother's wife. Casey and Sandy adopted Erica in March of 2000, when she was two years old. According to them, Carolyn got in touch with the family in 2011. Her parents allowed Erica to visit her birth family in Asheville, North Carolina three times and after the third visit, she never came home. Her adoptive parents say they got got a call from Erica in February of 2012 and she told them she was never coming back. They never reported her missing because they reasoned she was safe where she was at. They continued to collect support checks from the North Carolina Department of Social Services (DSS) for Erica's care; the payments were for more than $600 a month. Casey and Sandy said they kept the money because they wanted to maintain Erica's health insurance. Authorities stated that Sandy and Casey had been uncooperative with the investigation, hired an attorney and refused to submit to further interviews. Other members of the Parsons family described Erica as a very quiet, fearful child and said that they had no idea she was missing. Casey and Sandy apparently told people Erica had gone to live with her birth grandmother Irene “Nan” Goodman, in Asheville. This story turned out to be untrue and Carolyn stated Erica has no family members living in Asheville at all. The DSS investigated allegations of child abuse in the Parsons home when Erica was two years old. There were complaints that Casey whipped her daughter with a belt and bruised her, but the DSS could find no evidence of abuse. There have also been multiple domestic violence calls at the Parsons residence. Casey and Sandy maintain that James reported his sister missing out of spite because they'd made him move out of the house. He has a record for domestic violence and was arrested at least twice for assaulting family members. After Erica's disappearance was reported, the DSS removed the two youngest Parsons children from their home and placed them with a grandparent pending a family court hearing on their parents' fitness. Some members of Erica's extended adoptive family believe she may be dead. Relatives told authorities Erica was mentally and physically abused on a regular basis, particularly by Casey. At one point Erica went to stay with a relative because Casey no longer wanted to care for her. After eight months, Casey took her back because she was afraid the DSS would find out Erica was no longer living with her and stop the adoption assistance payments. Erica's disappearance went unnoticed for so long in part because she was home-schooled and did not have any profiles on online social networks. Police have not named any suspects or persons of interest in Erica's disappearance, but her case is being investigated as a criminal matter. Her disappearance remains unsolved. Erica is a Caucasian female with brown hair and brown eyes. She was last seen wearing shorts and a red sweatshirt with a snowman on the front. Category:Missing by Year Category:2011